


These Arms Were Made For Holding You

by Tomlinslut28



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bottom Harry, College, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Older Louis Tomlinson, Professors, Shameless Smut, Slow Build Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Slow Burn, Smut, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Student Harry, Teacher Louis Tomlinson, Teacher-Student Relationship, Top Louis Tomlinson, University, University Student Harry Styles, Younger Harry Styles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:02:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27630439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tomlinslut28/pseuds/Tomlinslut28
Summary: Harry, at the ripe age of 18, still hasn't found his soulmate. Most people find them by time they are 16, but nope, still nothing. Everything changed when Harry goes away to school at University at Albany in Upstate New York and meets his new English Professor Louis Tomlinson.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 57





	These Arms Were Made For Holding You

With his bags all packed, Harry gets in his car to embark on the 4 hour journey to his new college. Nerves rack his body. Will he do well in school? Will he make friends here? Will he like his new roommates Zayn, Niall and Liam? Will he finally meet his soulmate? These are all questions that swirl through his head. The last one in particular struck worry throughout him. What if one of his roommates was his soulmate? It would be so perfect, them living together and everything. 

Part of Harry worries that he will never meet his soulmate. There are people out there that never meet them, and he has thought about if he was one of them. He's explored his options, of course. There are dating apps for Singles, but he doesn't think he would really be all that into them. The thought of swiping right and left on strangers based only on their bios and looks doesn't seem appealing to him. Harry is a hopeless romantic and just loves the idea of falling in love with that one person designed for him. He was made to love one specific person and he was hellbent on finding them. He glances at the mark on his inner right wrist, and sighs. One day. One day.

Throughout the multiple performances he put on in the car by himself, he makes it there in record time-3 1/2 hours. Maybe with a little speeding of course. He grabs as much as he can in one go and sets off to the stairs when he doesn't see an elevator in sight. He makes his way up to room 282 and sees the door is already open and 2 guys are chilling on the couch. 

Harry walks in just as they are looking up at him. "Hey! I'm Harry." 

They both get up and shake his hand. 

"Niall." 

"Zayn." 

"I'm just gonna set my stuff down and unpack my things, what rooms are still available?" 

The boy who introduced himself as Zayn gestures to the two rooms on the left "Those two are still open over there." 

"Thanks guys!" And with that he walks over and sets his things down on the bed in the first room. On this half of the dorm there's only a bathroom and two rooms. The middle of the dorm is a living space and kitchen, and then the right half is the same as the left half.

It only takes four trips to get all of his things into his room. Now the real task is unpacking everything. He gets started and thinks about his 3 classes he has tomorrow. English, Public Speaking, and Music. He is most excited for Music, being that he writes a little music of his own. He was not looking forward to English at all, he was never good at the subject. You see, writing lyrics came naturally because there were no silly rules he had to follow, whereas paper he has to write for English were riddled with rules. Not as much fun by far. 

The rest of the afternoon goes by fast. He meets his third roommate Liam, and they all decide to grab dinner together in the dining hall. 

"So where are you guys from?" Harry asks when there's a break in the conversation.

"Long Island." Liam says. 

"Oh really? Where? I'm from Babylon."

"Amityville." 

"Wow what a small world." They laugh.

"And you Zayn?" 

"Manhattan. It feels so weird to not be surrounded by big buildings and people."

"I can only imagine." Niall says. "I'm from Scranton, Pennsylvania. My soulmate is back home there too, I'm gonna visit at least once a month."

"I haven't met my soulmate yet." Zayn says.

"Me either! I have this microphone shaped mark on my wrist and I haven't found anybody who even resembles mine." Liam says and pulls back his hoodie's sleeve to show everyone. Showing people your mark was very common, as everyone was eager to meet their soulmate or help people find theirs if they recognized the mark.

What Harry didn't expect was for Zayn to pull back his sleeve and compare his mark to Liam's. A perfect match. It wasn't often that a pairing was witnessed. It was a very special moment. Niall and Harry extended their congratulations and were on their way to give them some alone time. 

Harry went to sleep that night dreaming of what his soulmate would look like, how they would act, what they liked to do and everything in between.

The next morning was rushed through. He woke up a half hour later than he wanted to get up. He still had more than enough tie to get ready but Harry liked to get placed early, especially when he didn't know where his classes were. 

He grabbed breakfast and coffee downstairs at the dining hall before heading to class. His first class of the day was Public Speaking. During class they all made introductions and read through the syllabus. The same was for Music. They listened to some songs before they got their first assignment on analysis on one of the songs of their choice.

The day went by swimmingly until he got to English. 

Harry was sitting front row in his seat when the most beautiful man he has ever seen walked into the room. He looked like one of the students, His tummy was full of butterflies looking at him. Harry waited for him to take a seat in one of the vacant desks but to his surprise he put his stuff down right at the professor's desk. 

"Hello class, please settle in." The gorgeous man waited a moment for the chatter to die down. "I am Professor Tomlinson, but you all can call me Louis." He spoke with a British accent. His voice was higher pitched than he was expecting, yet still beautiful and melodic. 

Harry has never been more focused on English class in his entire life. "So this semester we will be mainly focusing on creative writing." Louis' eyes landed on Harry finally. They locked eyes for a beat too long before he continued, "I want you all to write about two people finding out they're soulmates. It can happen in any way you'd like. But they have to be soulmates in the end." He looked at Harry once more. Harry wondered if Louis was feeling the same thing he was feeling, butterflies. So peculiar, Harry thinks to himself. He has never looked at anyone this way. For a split second Harry wonders if Louis could be his soulmate but he quickly shakes that thought from his mind. There's no way. That's his professor. He shakes his head once more before focusing on class once again. 

"-I'll let you all get started on this assignment, I only expect a couple of pages, no more than 10, by next Monday."

Harry internally freaks out. He's never been great at English, let alone creative writing. He takes a deep breath before pulling out his laptop and starting to write. Harry spends the remaining 40 minutes getting lost in this story of a student and professor finding out they are soulmates. He is cheekily trying to hint to his professor what he is feeling, but if all goes bad he can say it was all just a story. For all Harry knows, Louis is married and has kids at home. The thought of that makes him sad. 

The hour is up before he knows it and he is one of the last to leave. Before he grabs all of his things to leave he takes one last glance up at the professor. To his surprise Louis is already looking at him. 

"Hey I didn't catch your name just yet."

Harry looks around to make sure Louis is actually talking to him. "I'm Harry."

"Hey Harry. How is your assignment coming along?" Louis asks Harry. 

Harry takes a subtle deep breath before answering. "It's going surprisingly well, I've never been too good at English class, so I was a bit nervous but I think I'm gonna do well on it."

Louis lets out an easy laugh. "Well if you ever need help please just see me during office hours. I'm always here to help whenever you need it." Louis smiles at Harry. 

"Thanks Louis." 

And with that Harry grabs his things and leaves. Just as he is leaving he tries to take a glance at Louis' inner wrist but it's covered by a sleeve. Damn sleeve, he thinks to himself.

Harry spends the drive home thinking about the man's icy blue eyes and smooth voice. Oh how he wishes things could be simple for him and he could meet his soulmate already. Then he wouldn't be pining over his professor that he has absolutely no chance with. 

When he gets home his mind is still on Louis but he decides to just bang out his assignment now rather than later. He spends the rest of the day working on the paper because he hasn't received any other real assignments from other classes. He writes and writes about a professor pining over a student but they don't know they are soulmates yet. He decides to make it a slow burn.   
  
Finally, when his fingers feel like they are bleeding, he closes his laptop and has his mind set on food. He still isn't done with his paper but he has a solid 5 pages so far. Not bad for someone who sucks at English class. 

When he finally emerges from his room the rest of his roommates are playing video games in the living room. Niall in one chair, and Liam and Zayn sitting cuddled on another.

"I'm about to go grab some food if anyone wants to join."

It's almost funny how fast the boys stop their game to get up to join him. "Yeah, I'm starving right now." Niall says.

"Me too." Both Liam and Zayn say at the same time. It's crazy how much alike matches are. They think the same yet different. Almost like they are perfectly in sync. 

They all make their way downstairs and grab food before sitting down at a vacant table. 

"How were your classes today Harry?" Liam asks.

Harry swallows a bite before answering. "Really good!" He pauses contemplating telling the boys about Louis. He decides to tell them, being that he desperately needs some advice. "My English professor is...well, he's really hot. But there's more to him than that. He spoke to me after class and I had butterflies the entire time. I know it's stupid but it's what I'm feeling. I just don't know what to do."

"You like your professor? Aw Harry that's so cute." Zayn says. 

Harry blushes red. "I don't _like_ him. I barely know him."

"I think it's sweet. The same thing happened when I met my soulmate before we discovered we were soulmates. Butterflies like crazy." Niall adds.

"That's like what happened when I met Zayn." Liam says. 

"So what you guys are saying is that my professor is my soulmate? That's insane. There's no way. How would that even work?" Harry wonders out loud. 

"We're not saying he's your soulmate, you're right that is insane. But there's nothing you can really do but ride this out and see where it takes you." Liam says. Good advice, Harry thinks to himself.

"Yeah, and who knows maybe it's just a little crush that will pass. We've all been there." Zayn adds.

The topic drops and the rest of dinner went by smoothly. The rest of the boys talking about their first day of classes. Harry retires for the night early, thinking out Louis. What is he doing right now? Is he alone? Is he with his soulmate? Harry thinks about how he's going to check for a wedding ring on Wednesday when he has class with him again. 

He goes to sleep that night dreaming about having a matching teapot mark with a faceless man, with an eerily similar voice to Louis'. 

The next day goes by way too slow. Only two classes today, Math and Yoga. Math was a drag, even though Harry was good at it he still found it so boring. And Yoga just wasn't stimulating enough to keep his mind off the professor. His mind wondered and wondered all day. He caught himself looking at the mark on his inner wrist multiple times. He sighs. Will he ever find is soulmate? The one he was destined to be with? The one to be there through good and bad? The more he thinks about it the more he thinks about how he's going to sneak a peak at Louis wrist the next day. 

He makes out a whole plan about how he will stay a few minutes late and see if he can get a glimpse then. Of course it would be a tricky job. But it was one that he was up for.

The next morning Harry wakes up bright and early, ready to take the day-and see Louis. He takes his time getting ready today, needing some time. After he has taken his 20 minute shower, and spent entirely took long picking out what he was going to wear, he finally decides he can't procrastinate any longer and leaves for the dining hall.

He grabs a fruit bowl, pancakes, and bacon for his breakfast along with a piping hot cup of coffee. It was needed today. Harry spends quite a long time eating his breakfast and drinking his coffee, savoring the food. When it has been way too long he packs up his things and heads to his first class, Public Speaking. They talk about speeches and the proper way to structure a speech. They are then assigned to make a speech on a current event. Harry isn't nervous because he loves talking to people and this just give him an excuse to talk to many people at once. 

In Music they listen to more songs and learn the background of these artists lives. He takes notes diligently and commits them to memory. Tat way he'll be prepared for the first exam. 

It wasn't until Music that he felt any type of nerves. He gets to class 10 minutes early and takes his seat, laptop out and ready to go. Harry works on his paper for the 10 minutes he is waiting, and doesn't even realize Louis has entered the room until he hears his beautiful voice.

"Okay class today we're going to be writing a one page to two page paper on a secret. It doesn't have to be your own secret. Just a secret of some sort. It'll be due on Wednesday of next week." Louis looks around the room to make sure everyone understands. "I'll be at my desk if any one ahs any questions."

Harry looks the man up and down and notices he is once again wearing a long sleeve button down shirt. Damn it. How will he ever see this man's soulmate mark if he is always wearing sleeves? 

Harry removes the thoughts from his head and tries to focus on the task at hand. He comes up empty handed. A secret. What kind of a secret? The first thought that comes to mind is his own secret. Being completely head over heels for his English professor. But of course he can't write about that. He racks his brain for another secret he could come up with. Come on Harry! He thinks to himself. Any damn secret out there. 

He spends so much time thinking of a secret that the class has ended and he once again was the last one in the room with Louis.

"Hey Harry! How are you?"

Harry smiles up at the man as he starts packing his things. "I'm alright, just trying to come up with a secret. I can't think of any!" 

Louis lets out an easy chuckle. "It can be anything Harry. It doesn't have to be your own, although that would probably make it easier if it was your own." He adds the last part lowly.

Harry thinks about it for a moment. "I think I might have an idea but I'm not sure if I can write a whole paper about it."

"Do you have a few minutes? I can help you make an outline if you'd like." Louis says earnestly. 

Harry's heart skips a beat. Maybe he'll finally see his soulmate mark. :Yeah I have some time, this is my last class of the day."

"Oh how weird, it's my last class of the day too." Louis says before continuing. "Come pull up a chair I'll help you." 

The two get to working and in the end Harry has a perfect outline on what he'll write his paper about/ He decided on using his own secret, singing, when it all came down to it. Louis was surprised when he said this. 

"Is that your own secret?" Louis asks. 

Harry goes pink in the face. "Maybe," he replies.

"Hey it's nothing to be ashamed about. That's awesome that you like to sing. Do you do any open mic nights? I know of a few myself, I like to go sometimes to let off some steam." Louis says.

Harry is shocked that the other man likes to sing as well. It only makes sense that his smooth voice is also good at singing. 

"You sing too?" Harry asks. 

"Yeah I dabble here and there. Nothing crazy." Louis says easily. "Who knows maybe I'll see you at an open mic night some time."

Harry swallows subtly. Thinking of seeing Louis out of work gives him a whole new round of butterflies. "Yeah that would be cool." Harry pauses before continuing. "Thank you so much for helping me with my outline. I feel so much better about the whole thing now. I feel like I can totally do this now."

"You've got this Harry, I believe in you." Louis says half joking half serious.

And with that Harry left. He pauses and smiles to himself as he walks out of the building and to his car. Progress. 


End file.
